Sparking a Green Energy Movement

Our promise to you

We are committed to making green energy accessible and affordable to everyone in the state. By creating a flourishing green energy marketplace, we contribute to a better quality of life, a better environment and a better future for all. We create jobs. We grow businesses. We help people thrive.

We innovate, educate and activate to accelerate the growth of green energy. Click the chart below to see how.

Innovative Projects and Financing Solutions

Connecticut Green Bank’s innovative model is one of the driving forces behind our ability to reduce the energy burden on residents and businesses across the state. Below is a list of some of our most innovative projects and financing solutions to date.

1. CT Solar Lease 2 (SL2) with U.S. Bank, Key Bank and Webster Bank

The CT Solar Lease 2 program (“SL2”) was a public-private partnership between the Green Bank and private capital providers including U.S. Bank (as tax equity investor) and a syndicate of local and regional banks including Key Bank and Webster Bank (as debt investors). SL2 enabled lease and power purchase agreement (“PPA”) financing for residential and commercial-scale solar PV systems in Connecticut installed by an array of independent contractors. SL2 was an overwhelming success; the program’s capacity (over $70 million) was fully utilized, with nearly 1,200 residential systems and dozens of systems of commercial-scale projects accounting for nearly 20 megawatts of new distributed deployment.

2. C-PACE securitization with Clean Fund

Over the course of 2014 and 2015, Clean Fund, a Green Bank approved capital provider for the C-PACE program, purchased an initial C-PACE portfolio comprising 32 energy efficiency and solar PV projects across a dozen municipalities and valued at $30 million. Using an auction process, the Green Bank solicited bids for its portfolio, encouraging bidders to offer various structures and pricing. The Green Bank selected Clean Fund and together, the partners crafted a securitized bond structure under which Clean Fund purchased a single class of senior bonds to fund 80% of the portfolio purchase price while the Green Bank retained ownership of two tranches of subordinated bonds. This private placement transaction represented the first securitization of commercial PACE assets in the country.

3. Smart-E Loans

Smart-E loans help residents afford energy- and money-saving upgrades to their homes. With flexible terms, no money down required, and low interest rates, homeowners can select from over 40 improvements to meet their needs. The loan program is offered through local credit unions, community banks, and community development financial institutions (CDFIs), and work is completed by local contractors.

4. Dominion Fuel Cell Park in Bridgeport

Located on a remediated brownfield site in an industrial area of Bridgeport, Dominion’s fuel cell park is one of the largest in the world, using 1.5 acres of land to provide 14.9 megawatt of continuous renewable power to nearly 15,000 homes. Connecticut Green Bank used $5.8 million in ratepayer funds to leverage a life-cycle investment of $125 million from Dominion. Built by FuelCell Energy Inc., of Danbury, other partners include Eversource Energy, which purchases the produced electricity; United Illuminating, which delivers the power to end users; and the City of Bridgeport, which provided tax incentives.

5. PosiGen Solar Lease Helps Bridge the Affordability Gap

Through a public-private partnership between PosiGen Solar Solutions and the Green Bank, an innovative financing program was created that combines a solar lease with an energy savings agreement to lower the energy burden of participating households. Designed to close a clean energy affordability gap, the partnership focuses its efforts on improving the financial sustainability of low-to-moderate income families who are most susceptible to rising energy costs by reducing their energy consumption and providing opportunities to leverage state and federal incentives.

The Green Bank originally provided $5 million in warehouse financing to fund solar loans originated and serviced via the startup Sungage Financial. After aggregating those loans on its balance sheet, the Green Bank partnered with Mosaic, an emergent online crowdfunding platform specializing in solar installations, to tap into their growing capital base. As a result of the successful CT Solar Loan pilot, the Green Bank helped position Sungage Financial to attract a $100 million commitment from Digital Federal Credit Union. Now no longer requiring CGB support, Sungage Financial has fully “graduated” to a private capital partner with Digital Federal Credit Union and is offering its services nationally.

7. Hannon Armstrong Supports C-PACE with $100 million

By providing access to up to $100 million in funding for clean energy projects at commercial and industrial buildings and businesses, Hannon Armstrong is offering key investment support for the Green Bank’s successful C-PACE program. This partnership has streamlined the financing process for business owners, increased access to funds, and allowed the Green Bank to leverage private capital.

8. Colebrook South – Connecticut’s First Commercial Wind Farm

BNE Energy’s Colebrook South facility harnesses the power of the wind to generate electricity at the state’s first commercial wind farm. Working closely with Webster Bank and the Green Bank, BNE Energy was able to finance and develop a project that has a capacity of five megawatts and is now powering approximately 1,500 – 2,000 homes.

A unique funding partnership was formed when the Housing Development Fund and the Green Bank received a $5 million investment from the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to support energy efficiency and clean energy in the affordable multifamily housing sector. The program created a revolving pre-development energy loan fund to cover the costs of energy opportunity assessments, audits, and project scope definitions; a loan pool to finance the remediation of health and safety measures; and term financing to bridge gaps and provide a lower weighted average cost of capital for viable projects.

10. Hanover Pond Dam in Meriden – First Archimedes Screw Generator in U.S.

An historic installation in the United States, the first Archimedes Screw Generator was installed by New England Hydropower Company at the Hanover Pond Dam on the Quinnipiac River in Meriden in late 2016. With funding from Key Bank, Bank of America, and the Green Bank, the ASG is expected to produce over 900,000 kilowatt-hours of clean, reliable energy annually, while saving the City of Meriden tens of thousands of dollars a year. The project will be finished in early 2017.

About Us

Company Profile

The Connecticut Green Bank is the nation’s first green bank. We’re creating a thriving marketplace to accelerate green energy adoption in Connecticut by making green energy financing accessible and affordable for homeowners, businesses and institutions.